Sweden takes candy seriously all year, but December is a different sport. The weekly ritual of lördagsgodis (Saturday candy) gives way to a full Christmas season of sweets that only exist for a few weeks: foam Santas, homemade toffee in paper cups, and a chocolate box so traditional it comes with an unwritten rule about how you are allowed to eat it.
Much of it never leaves Sweden. Some of it does, if you know where to look and order before the seasonal stock is gone. Here is what Swedes actually eat at Christmas, and how to get it in the US.
The Aladdin Box, and the Rule
If one product owns the Swedish Christmas, it is the Aladdin box from Marabou. Introduced in 1939, it is a two-layer assortment of pralines in dark, milk, and white chocolate: nougats, truffles, toffee, and a cherry in liqueur that somebody in every family quietly claims. Its sibling Paradis is the milkier, sweeter version. Around Christmas, sales reach roughly one box per Swedish household.
Then there is the rule. You do not start on the bottom layer until the top layer is finished. Marabou has even joked about it in its own advertising. Guests who reach for the second layer early will be corrected, politely, in the way Swedes correct people they like. Today’s box is 410 grams, and the praline lineup changes a little most years, which causes a small national debate every single time.
Juleskum: the Foam Santas
Juleskum is Cloetta’s Christmas-only foam candy: soft, two-colored Santas with strawberry flavor. Cloetta has made foam Santas since 1934, and the modern Juleskum took shape in the 1960s. Production runs from May to December and turns out around 200 million Santas a year, yet they are only sold during the Christmas season. When they are gone, they are gone until next year.
Since 2011 there has also been a limited flavor each Christmas. The 2026 edition is Vanilla Fudge. There is a chocolate-dipped version too. If you see a bag in a US store in October, buy it then. Waiting until December is how you end up reading articles like this one instead of eating the candy.
Knäck and Ischoklad: the Homemade Pair
The two Christmas candies Swedes make rather than buy are knäck and ischoklad. Knäck is a toffee of sugar, golden syrup, cream, and butter, cooked until it turns amber and finished with chopped almonds. It is poured into small pleated paper cups, where it sets into something that sits exactly between chewy and tooth-threatening. Every family has an opinion about the correct consistency, and every family is right.
Ischoklad, ice chocolate, is simpler: chocolate melted with coconut oil, poured into small foil cups, and kept cold. It melts the second it touches your tongue, which is the whole point. Both candies appear at home, at school Lucia celebrations, and on the candy table that follows the julbord, the Christmas buffet.
Polkagrisar, Marzipan, and Pepparkakor
Polkagrisar are the red and white peppermint sticks from Gränna, where they have been made since 1859. They are sold all year, but at Christmas they end up in stockings, on trees, and crushed over desserts. Marzipan shows up as small figures, most classically a little pig, the marsipangris, which is exactly what it sounds like and is eaten without ceremony.
Pepparkakor, thin ginger snaps, are cookies rather than candy, but no Swedish Christmas candy table is complete without them. The traditional way to eat one is to place it in your palm, tap it, and make a wish if it breaks into three pieces.
One Drink You Need to Know: Julmust
Not candy, but inseparable from the table: julmust is a spiced, dark soft drink sold only around Christmas and Easter (as påskmust). Every December it outsells Coca-Cola in Sweden, a point of national pride that Swedes will explain to you at length. If a US store stocks it next to the candy, that store knows what it is doing.
Where to Buy Swedish Christmas Candy in the US
Seasonal Swedish candy reaches the US in small quantities. The stores we compare on this site stock Christmas items in the fall, and the most wanted ones (Juleskum and the Aladdin box in particular) tend to sell out before December. Browse the products section to compare what is available, or use our guide to where to buy Swedish candy in US stores for local options.
Planning gifts as well as eating? Our Swedish candy Christmas gift guide covers the present angle, and the advent calendar guide is the place to start if you want the countdown version. Order early either way. Swedish Christmas candy is a seasonal product with a hard deadline, and December 20 is not when you want to discover that.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Marabou Aladdin box is the closest thing to an official one. The praline assortment has been sold since 1939, and around Christmas roughly one box is sold per Swedish household. Homemade knäck, toffee in small paper cups, is the other essential.
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Juleskum is Cloetta’s Christmas-only foam candy: soft, two-colored Santas with strawberry flavor. Cloetta has made foam Santas since 1934 and produces around 200 million a year, sold only during the Christmas season. A limited extra flavor appears each year; the 2026 edition is Vanilla Fudge.
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You do not start on the bottom layer of pralines until the top layer is finished. It is an unwritten rule in most Swedish families, and Marabou has joked about it in its own advertising. Break it at a Swedish Christmas table and you will be corrected, politely.
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Yes, but it is seasonal and sells out. US stores that stock Swedish candy bring in items like Juleskum and the Aladdin box in the fall, and the popular ones are often gone before December. Order in October or November to be safe.
